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Yemeni forces launched 253 retaliatory missile strikes, 974 ops against Saudi-led coalition in 2020: Army spox

The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, speaks at a press briefing in Sana’a, Yemen, on January 4, 2021. (Photo by Arabic-language al-Masirah television network)

The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces says the country’s army, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, launched 253 missile strikes as well as 974 offensives against the positions of Saudi-led forces and their mercenaries last year in reprisal for the atrocious bombardment campaign waged by the Riyadh regime and its allies against the impoverished country.

Speaking in a televised press briefing broadcast live from the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a on Monday evening, Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Yemeni troops and their allies launched 178 ballistic missiles against Saudi-led forces and allied militias loyal to Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, inside Yemen in 2020, and 75 missiles struck them deep inside Saudi Arabia.

Saree noted that 20 high-precision Badr P ballistic missiles, 30 short-range Badr-1 missiles, seven long-range Quds cruise missiles and six Zolfaqar ballistic missiles in addition to a dozen missiles, whose specifications have not been disclosed yet, were used in missile strikes against the kingdom.

He went on to say that the Yemeni missile force has proven its capability in terms of deterrence and inflicting great damage on designated enemy targets, emphasizing that there are ten vital and sensitive targets deep inside Saudi Arabia, which will take Yemeni Armed Forces less than 24 hours to carry out surgical strikes against.

The high-ranking Yemeni military official highlighted that Yemen’s Air Force carried out more than 5,613 offensive and reconnaissance operations using unmanned aerial vehicles last year.

Saree added that 267 drone strikes were launched against targets inside Saudi Arabia, whilst 180 airstrikes targeted the camps of Saudi-led forces and their mercenaries across Yemen.

He noted that the high number of aerial operations demonstrates the level of prowess that Yemeni Armed Forces have acquired.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Saree said Yemeni air defense forces carried out more than 730 operations throughout last year, noting that the forces managed to shoot down 67 enemy aircraft, including warplanes as well as reconnaissance and combat ones.

He highlighted that Yemeni missile units managed to shoot down a Tornado fighter jet using a surface-to-air missile over the northern province of al-Jawf, and targeted two CH4 reconnaissance planes in the skies over Nihm and Majzar districts in Sana'a and Ma'rib provinces respectively.

The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces added that the Saudi-led coalition launched more than 8,888 airstrikes against various areas in thirteen Yemeni provinces of which 8,478 were launched by warplanes while 410 raids were mounted by drones.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.

Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.

The popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling the objectives of the atrocious war.


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